Government's wait for Godot

Robert Wynter, Contributor

Forced to take an elective during my freshman year at engineering school at the University of Toronto, I chose a literature course which included a play called 'Waiting for Godot'. At the tender age of 17, I did not consider the importance of a rounded college education, so little attention was paid to the course and to the play.

Today, I have to turn to Wikipedia to be informed that it is "an absurdist play by Samuel Beckett, in which two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, wait endlessly and in vain for the arrival of someone named Godot. They claim he's an acquaintance but in fact hardly know him, admitting that they would not recognise him when they do see him.

"To occupy the time, they eat, sleep, converse, argue, sing, play games, exercise, swap hats and contemplate suicide - anything to hold the terrible silence at bay."

Vladimir and Estragon remind me of our Government and seemingly the rest of society waiting for the signing of the new agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Apparently having exhausted all the meaningful straws in its election manifesto, the current administration, like Vladimir and Estragon, has lost sight of its purpose while waiting for its Godot. The inking of an IMF deal seems to be the salvation that will resurrect our march towards Vision 2030. The recent news that church leaders gathered to pray for the IMF deal seems to validate this point.

GOVERNMENT PURPOSE

Unlike the United States constitution, which indicates that "governments are created among men to protect their inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness", our 93-page Constitution does not provide a purpose of government. Instead, it describes the purpose of its various arms.

Section 70, subsection 2 of the Jamaican Constitution tells us: "The Cabinet shall be the principal instrument of policy and shall be charged with the general direction and control of the Government of Jamaica and shall be collectively responsible, therefore, to Parliament." Section 49, subsection 1 tells us: "Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, Parliament may make laws for the peace, order and good government of Jamaica."

In my own words, the purpose of any government is to grease the wheels of private-sector enterprises by making it easy for the small farmer to the conglomerate to add value to society; to ensure that the reward for adding value is fair returns on investments; to ensure that adding value results in the creation of adequate jobs and national surpluses to provide the necessary physical infrastructure, social transformation, and environmental protection.

LOSING ITS PURPOSES

Our private-sector wheels have been stuck for a very long time, with very little attempt to grease them, save and except for a privileged few that get waivers and, therefore, get more than their fair share of returns on investment without the concomitant adding of value to society. This has resulted in distortions in the economy; the tendency to break rules and to operate outside the formal system; inadequate job creation; little or no national surpluses, a creaking infrastructure, social decay and a deteriorating environment. In fact, we were in this position before the global meltdown and the latter simply exacerbated our situation.

The president of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), Chris Zacca, recently lamented that private-sector confidence is at a low level, not necessarily because the Government is waiting on its Godot (the IMF deal), but because there seems to be no way forward once the IMF arrives on its white horse.

I agree with Mr Zacca.

Although our balance of payments is a cause for concern, any inflows from the IMF and other multilateral funding will only be stopgap measures, as we need to address the growth capability, which has been anaemic for the last 40 years. What I find strange is that while persons such as Mr Zacca and I have challenges visualising this growth path, the IMF team leader is apparently confident of what he heard in the recent negotiations.

MEANINGFUL STRATEGY

To reverse our fortunes and to get us on a development path, I have been waiting with bated breath for a clear overarching strategy for the government. Having carefully developed and brilliantly executed a clear strategy to win the 2011 general election, the current administration apparently believes it can use the same strategy to run the Government - a sentiment shared by a senior party functionary.

At the recent town meeting held at Jose Marti High, Prime Minister Simpson Miller indicated that the latest Cabinet retreat was intended to, inter alia, determine whether ministers had, in fact, delivered on what was promised in the Progressive Agenda.

While many criticised the new Government in the early months of its administration, I cautioned that we should give Cabinet ministers time to develop the necessary strategies to move the country forward, as the permanent secretaries kept the Government afloat. I had expected that the first two Cabinet retreats earlier this year would have had some clear strategic thinking and the necessary plans to align the Government to deliver on the strategies.

Based on the Budget and Sectoral presentations, I saw very little overarching strategy and only pockets of meaningful game-changing ones in the areas of security, energy and education. Even these game-changing strategies are not likely to bear fruit, as there is little evidence of any plans to realign government.

Trying to execute a new strategy without realignment is tantamount to pouring new wine into old wineskins. This is precisely why decades of public-sector reform and local government reform have very little impact on public sector and local-government performance, respectively.

SANDY'S WAKE-UP CALL

Prime Minister Simpson Miller had to cut short her trip, and rightly so, to be in Jamaica for the onslaught of Hurricane Sandy and indicated that it could not have come at a worse time. I may be wrong, however I believed the goodly prime minister deep down believed that Sandy could not have come at a better time to tip the IMF's decision in our favour.

Whatever her wishes, Finance Minister Phillips made it clear that Sandy and its destruction will have little or no bearing on the IMF's deliberations. The fact is that Jamaica is in a hurricane belt, and while we should not expect or plan for a hurricane every year, natural disasters must be part of our planning. We should never be caught with cap in hand begging for help. I have heard estimates of damage in the region of $5 billion, which represents just about 0.5 per cent of GDP. Proper strategic planning should allow us to have enough put aside to deal with natural disasters like Sandy.

Realising that IMF and other multilateral handouts are simply stopgaps, we must, therefore, find ways to stand on our own feet. Sandy's destruction may, therefore, very well be a wake-up call, as having failed to develop a clear overarching strategy to move the country forward, the Government should very quickly go into retreat (advance) a fourth time.

However, the Government must set different objectives this time, and get professional help in strategic planning such as persons who helped to craft its election strategy. The prime minister and her team must understand that the principles in developing and executing strategies to win an election and to transform a country are exactly the same.

Robert Wynter is managing director of Strategic Alignment Limited, which facilitates organisational transformation and leadership development. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and rob.wyn@hotmail.com.